• 50. Bayern Munich's Serge Gnabry has the 50th highest transfer value in football, according to CIES Football Observatory, and is worth €70.8 million. EPA
    50. Bayern Munich's Serge Gnabry has the 50th highest transfer value in football, according to CIES Football Observatory, and is worth €70.8 million. EPA
  • 49. Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger, €70.8m. EPA
    49. Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger, €70.8m. EPA
  • 48. Paris Saint-Germain's Achraf Hakimi, €71m. AP
    48. Paris Saint-Germain's Achraf Hakimi, €71m. AP
  • 47. Mohamed Salah of Liverpool, €71.3m. Getty
    47. Mohamed Salah of Liverpool, €71.3m. Getty
  • 46. Tottenham's Cristian Romero, €73.1m. AP
    46. Tottenham's Cristian Romero, €73.1m. AP
  • 45. West Ham United's Declan Rice, €73.4m. Action Images
    45. West Ham United's Declan Rice, €73.4m. Action Images
  • 44. Manchester City's John Stones, €75.3m. Action Images
    44. Manchester City's John Stones, €75.3m. Action Images
  • 43. PSG's Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, €75.7m. AFP
    43. PSG's Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, €75.7m. AFP
  • 42. Eduardo Camavinga of Real Madrid, €78m. Getty
    42. Eduardo Camavinga of Real Madrid, €78m. Getty
  • 41. Chelsea's Mason Mount, €78.3m. PA
    41. Chelsea's Mason Mount, €78.3m. PA
  • 40. Jadon Sancho of Manchester United, €78.8m. Getty
    40. Jadon Sancho of Manchester United, €78.8m. Getty
  • 39. Trent Alexander-Arnold of Liverpool, €79.6m. Getty
    39. Trent Alexander-Arnold of Liverpool, €79.6m. Getty
  • 38. Alisson Becker of Liverpool, €79.8m. EPA
    38. Alisson Becker of Liverpool, €79.8m. EPA
  • 37. Martin Odegaard of Arsenal, €79.8m. EPA
    37. Martin Odegaard of Arsenal, €79.8m. EPA
  • 36. Inter Milan midfielder Nicolo Barella, €80.1m. EPA
    36. Inter Milan midfielder Nicolo Barella, €80.1m. EPA
  • 35. Benfica's Enzo Fernandez, €80.3m. EPA
    35. Benfica's Enzo Fernandez, €80.3m. EPA
  • 34. William Saliba of Arsenal, €80.3m. EPA
    34. William Saliba of Arsenal, €80.3m. EPA
  • 33. Darwin Nunez of Liverpool, €81.8m. EPA
    33. Darwin Nunez of Liverpool, €81.8m. EPA
  • 32. Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic, €82.4m. EPA
    32. Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic, €82.4m. EPA
  • 31. Chelsea's German midfielder Kai Havertz, €84.6m. AFP
    31. Chelsea's German midfielder Kai Havertz, €84.6m. AFP
  • 30. Manchester City's Argentinian striker Julian Alvarez, €87.3m. AFP
    30. Manchester City's Argentinian striker Julian Alvarez, €87.3m. AFP
  • 29. Lautaro Martinez of Inter Milan, €87.5m. Getty
    29. Lautaro Martinez of Inter Milan, €87.5m. Getty
  • 28. Manchester City's Bernardo Silva, €90.7m. EPA
    28. Manchester City's Bernardo Silva, €90.7m. EPA
  • 27. Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli, €91.6m. Action Images
    27. Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli, €91.6m. Action Images
  • 26. Raheem Sterling of Chelsea, €93m. Getty
    26. Raheem Sterling of Chelsea, €93m. Getty
  • 25. Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United, €93.6m. PA
    25. Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United, €93.6m. PA
  • 24. Arsenal's Gabriel Jesus, €97.4m. PA
    24. Arsenal's Gabriel Jesus, €97.4m. PA
  • 23. Christopher Nkunku of RB Leipzig, €98.6m. PA
    23. Christopher Nkunku of RB Leipzig, €98.6m. PA
  • 22. Barcelona's French defender Jules Kounde, €98.7m. AFP
    22. Barcelona's French defender Jules Kounde, €98.7m. AFP
  • 21. Chelsea's Reece James, €99.3m. PA
    21. Chelsea's Reece James, €99.3m. PA
  • 20. Eder Militao of Real Madrid, €102m. Getty
    20. Eder Militao of Real Madrid, €102m. Getty
  • 19. Joao Cancelo of Manchester City, €103.6m. Getty
    19. Joao Cancelo of Manchester City, €103.6m. Getty
  • 18. Manchester City's Portuguese defender Ruben Dias, €105m. AFP
    18. Manchester City's Portuguese defender Ruben Dias, €105m. AFP
  • 17. Barcelona's Spanish forward Ferran Torres, €106.8m. AFP
    17. Barcelona's Spanish forward Ferran Torres, €106.8m. AFP
  • 16. Aurelien Tchouameni of Real Madrid, €107.2m. Getty
    16. Aurelien Tchouameni of Real Madrid, €107.2m. Getty
  • 15. Real Madrid's Rodrygo, €107.4m. AP
    15. Real Madrid's Rodrygo, €107.4m. AP
  • 14. Bukayo Saka of Arsenal, €108.7m. EPA
    14. Bukayo Saka of Arsenal, €108.7m. EPA
  • 13. Barcelona's Frankie De Jong, €109.3m. AP
    13. Barcelona's Frankie De Jong, €109.3m. AP
  • 12. Liverpool's Luis Diaz, €109.7m. PA
    12. Liverpool's Luis Diaz, €109.7m. PA
  • 11. Rodri of Manchester City, €117m. EPA
    11. Rodri of Manchester City, €117m. EPA
  • 10. Real Madrid's Uruguayan midfielder Federico Valverde, €123.5m. AFP
    10. Real Madrid's Uruguayan midfielder Federico Valverde, €123.5m. AFP
  • 9. Leipzig's Josko Gvardiol. €125.8m. AP
    9. Leipzig's Josko Gvardiol. €125.8m. AP
  • 8. Jamal Musiala of Bayern Munich, €145.1m. Getty
    8. Jamal Musiala of Bayern Munich, €145.1m. Getty
  • 7. Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Gavi, €147.6m. AFP
    7. Barcelona's Spanish midfielder Gavi, €147.6m. AFP
  • 6. Barcelona's Pedri, €170.2m. Reuters
    6. Barcelona's Pedri, €170.2m. Reuters
  • 5. Erling Haaland of Manchester City, €174.9m. Getty
    5. Erling Haaland of Manchester City, €174.9m. Getty
  • 4. Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, €190.5m. AP
    4. Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior, €190.5m. AP
  • 3. Paris Saint-Germain's French forward Kylian Mbappe, €190.7m. AFP
    3. Paris Saint-Germain's French forward Kylian Mbappe, €190.7m. AFP
  • 2. Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden, €200.5m. AFP
    2. Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden, €200.5m. AFP
  • 1. Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham, €208.2m. EPA
    1. Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham, €208.2m. EPA

Bellingham or Mbappe? The world's 50 most valuable footballers in 2023 - in pictures


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Europe's biggest clubs are planning to flex their muscles in the January transfer window after a thrilling World Cup put some new names in the shop window.

Transfer fees continue to defy economic sense, but which player is actually worth the most?

The CIES Football Observatory, based in Switzerland, has worked it out, and has released their bi-annual list of the top 100 most valuable players – including familiar names such as Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden of Manchester City, and Paris Saint-Germain's French forward Kylian Mbappe.

CIES calculate the values using an algorithm developed by their own research team, and factors in players' ages, length of contract, salaries and other measures to determine a figure for the transfer market from clubs in the five major European leagues. Because of his age, it means there is no place in the top 100 for Argentina superstar Lionel Messi.

The full list is in the gallery above, in reverse order.

Who are the top 10 most valuable players?

All figures according to CIES

1. Jude Bellingham, Borussia Dortmund - €208.2m ($222m).

2. Phil Foden, Manchester City - €200.5m.

3. Kylian Mbappe, PSG - €190.7m.

4. Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid - €190.5m.

5. Erling Haaland, Manchester City - €174.9m.

6. Pedri, Barcelona - €170.2m.

7. Gavi, Barcelona - €147.6m.

8. Jamal Musiala, Bayern Munich - €145.1m.

9. Josko Gvardiol, RB Leipzig - €125.8m.

10. Federico Valverde, Real Madrid - €123.5m.

Updated: January 09, 2023, 9:16 AM